'Putin's forces fire 22 shells for every one we fire back'

Askold Krushelnycky talks to Ukrainian soldiers digging in with trenches and metal 'dragon's teeth' around the city of Kupiansk as they face an increasingly intense Russian assault

Kupiansk, in northeast Ukraine, has been ravaged more than most cities since Moscow’s full-blown invasion began two years ago.

Russian troops poured in from across the border 30 miles away and within days occupied Kupiansk. However, in September 2022, Ukraine recaptured Kupiansk and other large areas of Kharkiv region the Russians had seized.

Since then, the Russians have been trying to wrest back Kupiansk because it is an important railway hub, supplying troops that would allow Moscow to try and make further advances. Therefore, Kupiansk has become a symbol of Ukraine’s determination to resist Moscow.

The noise of explosions provides a constant backdrop to anyone in the area, and much of the city has been destroyed. The Ukrainian government has repeatedly advised people to evacuate the city and only a few hundred of its 27,000 pre-war population remain.

As Captain Maksym Radchenko of the 123rd Kupiansk Battalion of the 113 Kharkiv Territorial Defence Brigade explains, the Oskil River on the eastern edge of the city has helped Ukrainian forces keep the Russians at bay. “The river is a natural defence system for us because crossing water is very difficult for an attacking enemy force,” says Radchenko.

“Wherever they have tried to breach our lines, we have repelled them,” the captain adds. “They have tried to storm our lines with mass assaults. Their commanders don’t care how many men they lose. They leave their dead and even wounded behind them and the areas in front of our lines are full of their corpses.”